


Zone of the Enders: the Fist of Mars (Novelization)

by Blackcat413



Category: Zone of the Enders Series
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, i will be changing the rating and tags as they apply, my tags are barebones now but not for long!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26209723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackcat413/pseuds/Blackcat413
Summary: 2173, Mars.Cage Midwell, an orphan boy working on a cargo ship, finds himself in possession of one of the most important pieces of technology ever invented.
Kudos: 5





	1. On The Battle God's Palm

**Author's Note:**

> Hello goodmorning! This is my attempt to novelize the events of this game, from start to finish. There won't be very many changes to canon here (except for dialogue to make the transfer to writing a little smoother), just an attempt to flesh out what's already there. I'm not expecting very many people to read this, so if you do, please let me know what you think! :)

Cage slumped back against the wall with little ceremony _,_ distantly registering the pleasant tone of the woman over the PA: “Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing at Deimos Airport, Mars, 50 minutes later than scheduled.”

He heaved a sigh, idly wondering how mad the captain would get at him if he didn’t get the luggage ready soon—

_ THUD. _

_ “ _ Ow!” he exclaimed, more out of shock than pain. A man had pushed him, looking big and intimidating and, most importantly,  _ pissed off.  _ As Cage absorbed the fact that he was now being leered at by a dude twice his size, the guy pushed him into the wall with both hands. 

“Gotcha now, you little fucker,” he sneered.

“Wh-what are you- what are you talking about?” Cage stammered, eyes already darting down both sides of the hallway to see if anyone was around.

“Hey.” The big dude snapped his fingers in Cage’s face. “Listen here, you little pissant. Someone took my money.”

He swallowed down his knee-jerk reply of  _ I’m just a janitor, man,  _ and put on the best customer service smile he could while he was getting his bones crushed. “Oh no, a burglary? That’s terrible! Thankfully they’ll be able to find it because at the Departure Gate they have—”

The man squeezed the breath out of him even more, making Cage cough as he was sandwiched between the wall and this dude’s forearm. “Are you mocking me?” he snarled.

Cage couldn’t reply, but the guy didn’t seem to care. He just kept barreling onward. 

“There’s no reason to tell anyone or look for the culprit. I _ know _ you know why. You’re the thief, and don’t even pretend to hide it. I’ve already found you out.”

He loosed his grip on Cage enough for him to get his breath out. “What?” he wheezed. “You can’t…I’m…I’ll call the police…”

“Fine by me,” the dude half-shrugged, needing only one arm to keep Cage pinned. It would have been funny if his ribs weren’t screaming in pain. “I’ve got the proof to back up my story right here.”

He let go of Cage finally, figuring he was roughed up enough that he couldn’t get away if he tried. The guy rifled through his pockets and revealed a Handy PC. It was…really nice, as far as phones go; definitely better than anything Cage could afford on his salary. 

He tried to stall as he got his breath back, nearly doubled over. “Wow, that’s…that’s really nice…it must’ve been expensive, right?”

The guy looked puzzled. “Yeah, it was. I went through a lot to get it.”

“Hey man, that’s great…You should be careful not to get that stolen…Well, anyway, see ya!” Cage finally turned to go, hoping he’d be able to outrun this guy if it came down to it.

“Okay, see you…Hey, wait a minute!” The guy caught him by the arm before he made it two steps out, and Cage groaned in frustration. “This contains Class A information from the National Space Force. I’ve downloaded all the security tapes onto it,” he explained haughtily, jamming his free thumb into his chest as if to say “ _ See? I covered my bases before I decided to kick your ass.”  _ Which was all very fine and well, except he clearly  _ didn’t. _

Cage threw up his free arm in exasperation, casting his eyes up to the fluorescent ceiling. “What does this have to do with me?!” he yelled on a half-laugh. “I just cleaned your room and left!”

“Yeah, you left, and my wallet was gone.”

Cage exhaled through his nose and planted his feet. “Yeah. So?”

The man’s hand squeezed threateningly on his arm. “You’re still going to play dumb, eh?” his voice raised to a shout. “You took my wallet!”

Cage involuntarily flinched, which hurt his pride more than anything. “I didn’t steal anything!”

“You little shit, I’ll-”

Someone slid into Cage’s periphery, smooth as a cat. He whipped his head around to see Ares come up behind him, brandishing a wallet. 

A wave of instant relief swept through him.  _ Good lord, this man’s timing is impeccable.  _ Cage silently thanked God for sending Ares down to him and reconsidered the entire concept of religion in half a second.

“Sir, would this be the wallet you’re looking for?” Ares asked. Cage continued to gawk like a fish. 

The guy, who had been winding up a world-ending punch, paused as he considered this new information. Cage practically saw the gears turning in his head. “Oh, I get it. You’re in on it too, are you?”

Ares still smiled as coolly as ever, his relaxation unwavering. “I think that’s enough, sir,” he said placatingly. “I would stop right there if I were you.”

The man, instead of backing down, seemed even more agitated. He reared back, nostrils flaring. “Who do you think you are?” he bellowed.

Ares’s entire demeanor shifted. His eyes flashed dangerously, the way Cage only saw him get when he was truly pissed off. “I’m telling you to cut it out. If you want to find some spare change, find a better way to do it.” 

He didn’t shout, to his credit.  _ I’d piss my pants if I tried to talk to someone like that,  _ Cage thought. Ares wasn’t even half that dude’s size, but he was staring him down like he’d fight him without question.  _ Does he really think he can throw down with this guy and win? _

The guy, apparently, was thinking the same thing. “You want some of this?” he challenged, smirking like he was already looking forward to when Cage would have to mop Ares’s guts off the floor. He silently prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

Ares cracked a smirk of his own. “Thought you’d never ask, Mr. Lewy.”

“Don’t, Ares, it’s fine… ” Cage all but pleaded, trying to talk them down from the inevitable brawl. 

Everything was dead silent for a second, and he felt awkward immediately.  _ Oh God, I shouldn’t have said anything,  _ he lamented.  _ My best friend’s about to get killed defending me from some thug, and then I’ll be next.  _

But before he could get to work writing Ares’s eulogy (and his own immediately thereafter), the man snapped straight. His wide stance disappeared, immediately giving way to deference. “Ares? Did you say Ares?” 

Then his eyes went comically wide. “ _ Oh _ —! Heh heh, hahaha, sorry about the hassle! H-here you go, man, don’t worry about it. Keep this. I’m sorry.” 

He shoved the Handy PC in Cage’s hands like he was worried he wouldn’t accept it, then turned tail and ran down the hallway loud enough that Cage was nervous he’d wake up every passenger in the ship. 

_ What. _

He looked down at the little phone in wonderment.  _ This is more expensive than anything I’ve ever owned! _

Ares put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright, Cage?”

He opened his mouth once, then closed it.  _ What was that? How come you’re not a stain on the wall right now? What did you  _ do?! 

He tried again. “Yeah, I’m fine. Did you know that guy?”

Ares thought about it for a second, then chuckled at some private joke. “Nah. More importantly, why are you always in some sort of trouble?”

Cage laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I honestly don’t know. But it’s all good—you save me every time, so I’m not worried.”

Ares sighed. “Well, we should get ready for landing. We’ll be at Deimos soon.”

Cage remembered, with a jolt, the fact that he was supposed to see to the luggage before they landed. “Shit, I almost forgot! Come on, Ares, let’s go!” He took off without waiting.

Ares himself stood in the hallway, watching him go.  _ The worst is over…After I land, it’s home base. _

_ BONAPARTE III: COCKPIT _

_ PILOT: Fuck, not again. _

_ CAPTAIN: What is it? Did you lose connection? _

_ PILOT: Yes, sir. It was working fine just a minute ago. _

_ CAPTAIN: Damnit…it had to happen on the one flight the higher-ups told me to be extra careful with. _

_ PILOT: Oh, you mean the mystery cargo? It’s gigantic this time. I wonder what’s in it. _

_ CAPTAIN: What is that? Look, it’s at 2 o’clock. _

_ PILOT: There’s nothing coming through on the radar. _

_ CAPTAIN: You can’t depend on computers. Back in my day, we maneuvered manually through debris-filled magnetic fields— _

_ PILOT: Captain, something’s headed this way! It’s still not showing up on the radar, it’s… _

_ CAPTAIN: Move out of the way, damnit! We’re not going to make it—aaaaargh! _

Cage, inside with the cargo, heard what sounded like a person speaking quietly. Unsure if he imagined it, he looked around uneasily. Anxiety settled in his throat; he never liked these lifeless rooms… “Hello? Anyone in here?”

He heard footsteps and an automatic door before he spotted a girl dashing through it. “Excuse me, miss!” he called out after her. “This is a restricted area. Please return to your room; we’ll be landing shortly.”

He followed her into the next room. He didn’t see her at first, surrounded by big boxes of cargo. “Um…you’re in there, right? Please come out,” he tried coaxing her.

He poked his head behind a box and came face-to-face with the girl, nearly giving himself a heart attack. He made an undignified-sounding noise of surprise, but she didn’t respond or change her expression whatsoever.

“Uh, hello,” he continued, stuffing his hands in his pockets defensively. “Sorry to bother you, it’s just—”

There was a vibration in his bones, followed instantly by a boom so loud that he worried about the state of his hearing. Cage collapsed onto the floor, knees giving way as he lost his balance. 

He grit his teeth and held his hands over his ears, waiting for the shaking to pass.  _ What just happened? _

When he opened his eyes, the girl was on the floor too, and alarms blared loud enough to rival the sound of the…explosion?  _ I hope that’s not what it was.  _ His gut filled with dread.

The automated voice on the PA started rattling off the status of the ship. “Emergency Alert. Contact with unidentified object. Fire in Combustion Tank on Upper-Central Deck. Security Compartmentalizing System malfunction. Emergency state in First, Second, and Third Residence Blocks, Cockpit. All systems lost. Lifesaving System stalled at Phase Three.”

Cage fumbled for the phone in his pocket. “I’ll call Ares,” he said to the girl, but was distracted by the shaking of his fingers trying to hit the keys. “He should be on Deck Three.”

It didn’t even ring. His hysteria crested as he stumbled to his feet, pounding on the doors they had come through. They didn’t open. “Somebody help!” he screamed. “Please, help us!”

Another explosion nearly swept him off his feet again. He turned around in resignation. “Uh…I think we’re locked in,” he admitted.

She continued to stare blankly at him. In fact, her expression hadn’t changed this whole time…it was pretty creepy, actually.

“Um…don’t worry. Ares will save us.”

Another painful pause.

“...I’m Cage. What’s your name?”

The thought occurred that she might not understand him; unfortunately, he had never been good with languages, so there was nothing he could do. Despair washed over him as he considered the possibility that he may die here with this girl who couldn’t even talk to him.

Then, as if sensing his quickly mounting dread, she spoke. “M…mmm….Myona. Myona Alderan.” 

It was practically a whisper, almost imperceptible against the still-blaring alarms. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Myona. We should find a way to get out of here,” he babbled. 

“...Time.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no…there’s no time.”

Another explosion threatened to rip the ship apart, and Cage heard groaning metal.  _ No shit, there’s no time,  _ he wanted to tell her.

But then she turned, started walking—Cage followed her instantly, figuring she may have been hanging around in here and knew another way out. But she led him behind a big box, to something covered with a sheet. It wasn’t tied down, strangely enough, and, with more authority than he expected of her, she took hold of the edge of the sheet and  _ pulled.  _

Cage watched in alarm as the sheet fell away, revealing a portable stairway, the kind that they made for LEVs, and  _ oh god it’s an LEV.  _

“Oh my God.” he echoed his thought, stepping forward. “What’s it doing here?” he realized after the fact that he said it in a whisper, and there was probably no way Myona heard him. 

She started walking, rising the steps like she knew what she was doing. Cage scrambled to follow her, realizing with a rush of adrenaline that this frame could potentially save both of their lives.

Myona fiddled around with it and the cockpit opened with a rush of air.  _ What is going  _ on?! he wanted to shout.

“Board. Now…there’s still enough time…”

He peered closely at her with all the focus he could muster at the moment. She still had that same blank expression. Probably the shock, but still, it was disconcerting. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You’re looking a little pale.”

“Must…Hurry. We won’t make it…like this…”

“Wait, what am I supposed to do?”

“Take this…” She turned towards the open hatch.  _ You’re an idiot, Cage. Just get in the frame. _

He wasn’t sure how to drive it, but he supposed that didn’t matter now. He got in, and she followed; there wasn’t very much room at all, and she had to scrunch up at his side uncomfortably. 

“Sorry,” he said with genuine sympathy. “I guess it’s a one-man vehicle.”

The LEV turned on without prompting, which freaked him out a little.  _ Okay, maybe they’re just supposed to do that. How would I know? _

Myona leaned forward. “Launch.”

The force of the impact left him dazed, but hopefully not for long; when Cage next opened his eyes, he was staring into the hole in the ship that  _ he  _ made.

_ Oh no. That wasn’t supposed to happen.  _

_ …Well, I guess I’m not supposed to be alive, either. _

He took a deep breath. Myona was still passed out next to him, probably knocked unconscious the same way he was. She was breathing normally, though, so that was one thing taken care of.

Cage uncertainly took proper hold of the controls, and soon figured out how to make the LEV move in the basic directions. With his very primitive motor skills, he put as much distance between him and the Bonaparte III as possible. 

He saw debris fly past him and he turned the frame around to view the ship again. His blood ran cold at the sight. 

It had blown up again, but bad enough this time that the entire half of the ship that he was on just minutes ago had been eviscerated. In fact, even the part of it that was intact had enough gaping holes in it that he was doubtful that  _ anyone  _ on the ship was safe. 

“What…” he mumbled in shock. Then louder: “ _ WHAT?!” _

Something hummed to life. A computer’s voice spoke to him, “All Sequences Complete. Register Pilot, Please.”

His head was spinning still; he wasn’t even sure the machine was upright, he felt like he was going to pass out—

“How is it possible? Ares, everyone…There’s no way…there’s just no way…no way, no way, no way…” his whole body was shaking, but he couldn’t stop it even if he tried. 

“Automatic Organic Breakdown Acquired. DNA Analysis Initiated. DNA Analysis Complete. All Regular. Registration Complete.” The computer took over—it sounded feminine—

“It can’t be…” he whispered. “They can’t all be dead…”

“They Are Not All Dead. 42 Living Recorded,” she(?) said. 

Cage’s head shot up to look out the window, as if he’d see a person out there. He saw none. 

He turned his attention back to the AI. “What? How can you- who are you?!”

“I Am The Vessel Navigation System.”

“Oh…you’re just different from other Navigation Systems I know,” he mumbled. “Come on, we need to go and save them.”  _ Deimos Airport is  _ right there _ , if only I can just go get some help… _

Something appeared in the distance. Cage squinted to get a better look. He thought it was just another piece of debris at first, but the black blob moved far too quickly for that. 

“Warning,” the AI supplied. “Unidentified Object Heading This Way. 92.24% Chance Of Attack. Recommend Engagement.”

Cage felt a jolt of fear. “Wait, we have to fight?”  _ I can barely move this thing! How am I supposed to fight?! _

“Affirmative. Object Believed To Be The Same One That Attacked The Bonaparte.”

Cage’s mind rushed to process.  _ I thought an engine exploded or something! We were  _ attacked?  _ But we’re just a cargo ship, why would— _

The black blob drew close enough for Cage to get a good look at it. Silhouetted against the backdrop of Mars, it resembled some dark angel, black and red, glowing from the orange light behind it. He didn’t know much about LEVs, but the ones he’d seen before did  _ not  _ have wings like that.

“What is that?” he asked the computer, hoping she would know. “An LEV? Those wings…it’s almost like a…a…” he grappled with the word- he  _ knew  _ there was a word for it-

“Will You Commence Attack?” the AI responded without answering his question.

He glanced down at Myona, who was still breathing normally. He’d be putting her at risk too, but if there really wasn’t any other option…

“Yes,” he replied. “What do I do?”

“Acknowledged. Tactical AI Engaged.” Cage heard some mechanical whirring, and a new set of controls lit up. A little screen popped up, with three lines of text on it: the first said “Tear Bullet,” the second “Rusty Lancer,” and the third “Soulshooter.” 

He presumed those were the names of his three primary attacks.  _ Soulshooter’s greyed out, so it probably takes some amount of ammo I don’t have…okay. I got this.”  _

There were a few other numbers he didn’t quite understand, but the basics seemed simple enough. He selected Tear Bullet, which was the ranged attack, and immediately a lock-on function appeared on the middle screen; when he confirmed the target as the black frame, the right arm of his frame extended and shot a laser right into the other machine.

_ Whoa.  _

Adrenaline surged through him.  _ I can do this. I can actually do this.  _

He didn’t have enough time to celebrate, however, because the enemy frame was gearing up to respond in turn; it closed in with startling speed, its own right arm glowing purple in preparation to attack in turn. 

Cage wrenched the control stick to the right, hurtling out of the way at the exact same time the enemy’s slash connected with the space he occupied just milliseconds ago.

His mind raced.  _ Now that we’re in close range, I can hit him again.  _ He didn’t have time to aim, just pick the attack and hope he was close enough to do some damage. 

The other pilot was fast, but not quite fast enough; Cage’s blade arm just brushed against the machine, causing both to fly backward against the impact. 

But before he was ready to try again, the black frame’s arm lit up once more. He tried to do the same thing he did before, but his opponent was ready this time, and accounted their aim for when Cage inevitably tried to leap away. 

He braced himself, wincing as the purple blaze sliced through some of his frame’s outer armor. The metal groaned, but held fast.

“I thought LEVs were more delicate, but they’re pretty durable, huh? Or is this one special? At any rate, it seems pretty reliable,” he muttered to the AI while he geared up for another attack. He fell into a rhythm of dodging and weaving and figuring out which buttons to hit and when.

As expected, the AI answered none of his questions directly. “Analysis Complete. Unidentified Object Classified As ‘Hostile.’”  _ I guess I can only expect so much interaction out of a computer,  _ he mused.

He heard static on the comms, and realized with a jolt that the other frame runner was trying to talk to him. “Who the…you…you think you…Pharsti?”

“What? You’re breaking up!”  _ I hope we can hear each other. Maybe we don’t have to fight! _

His AI supplied some new information. “Comm Disabled, Possibly Due To Resonant Interference. Origin Unknown.”

“I don’t know what that means!” Cage yelled, bordering on hysteria. The other pilot replied, to his surprise.

“I see…means that…I didn’t want…destroy…my own hands.”

They sounded male, but that was all Cage could make out. His AI responded again. “Enemy Object Approaching. High Energy Levels Confirmed. Danger. Take Evasive Action.”

“Evasive action?! How?” He jettisoned the frame backwards, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the enemy. 

As he did so, the other frame’s wings lit up with purple streaks. As Cage watched, lasers shot out and nearly hit him dead-on. He was far enough away that they just barely missed, but the heat distorted his vision as lasers sprouted from its wings. 

All the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he sucked a sharp inhale between his teeth. “That was  _ close _ . If that happens again…”

“Identical Enemy Detected. Reroute Impossible.”

Cage shook his head in despair, smiling grimly. “I never could save myself. If only Ares were here…” As he spoke, another round of laser beams started to charge up.

The speaker crackled again. “Failure is not an option…at least…no suffering…”

Cage looked to Myona still curled under his arm. She was crying, but her eyes were closed. She was talking, saying something into his shirt, but it sounded more like a whimper than anything. “Imp…Impossible…Help…Va…I…”

He didn’t know what she was saying, but a surge of despair for this girl overtook him.  _ I can’t give up! Her life depends on me too!  _

He switched to the attack panel as the other pilot’s voice came through the speakers again, clearer this time. “Farewell, Pharsti…Ca-?!”

He didn’t have time to finish what he was saying, because Cage’s frame surged forward, glowing with green energy and slicing through the other machine. He couldn’t see how damaged it was, but the ragged hole in the front of it said enough.

“Unidentified Object Losing Power,” his AI said. As Cage watched, the frame retreated, flying somewhere over Mars.

An alarm started up, suddenly and loudly, blaring in Cage’s ears. Myona had passed out cold again. “What’s happening?!” he yelled to the AI. 

“We Have Entered The Gravitational Field Of Mars. Approaching Atmosphere.”

Cage swore, imagining his machine burning up into a comet in the atmosphere and disintegrating before they even hit the ground. “Can’t anything be done?”

“No.”

“Are- Are you always so direct?”

“Would You Prefer A Vague Answer To Your Inquiry? It Would Not Change The Facts, But…”

_ Did my AI just snark at me?  _ Cage tried to formulate a reply, but the frame jerked backwards with enough force to stick him to the seat.

They were falling.

The descent tore a scream from his throat. He felt like his brain was being vaporized, a thousand lines of heat racing through his body all at once. As they fell faster and faster, he tried to make peace with the fact that he was probably going to die right then and there. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, held tight to Myona, and braced for landing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really, really trying to be nice but the only thing i could picture for cage this entire chapter was  
> [this image](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/omqkKGajQHqvSEMIchXGDpASpZmojcqFrbYD1FhsZ-rlEP2dYsVHOlFa8N1xBdi4fnP_G_ZlfUnN0R2rZvN9zmYZ88cuRkUyscucuSBZHUfi9Z-Xx1VrEUIZJ6TAJQ2Dag)


	2. Perpetual Motion

Somebody shook him awake.

Cage groaned, kicked out in sleepiness—his foot collided with something solid. “Ow,” he complained, opening his bleary eyes to find himself face to face with a girl.

_...Okay, what happened? _

It all came rushing back a split second after: the explosions, jumping ship, fighting that mysterious frame, and then—presumably—crashing on Mars. Except…they couldn’t have crashed, because the LEV was in one piece.

“Are you okay?” Myona asked. She sat up now, but stayed scrunched up uncomfortably close. It made sense; they were on the bare surface of Mars, well outside any of the spheres. If they tried to get out now, they’d likely suffocate before ever getting anywhere on foot. 

“I’ve been better,” Cage admitted, wincing. _ That’s a bit of an understatement. My head feels like a pile of bricks. _

“Um…Can you please explain to me what’s going on?”

He blinked. “What do you mean? You’re the one who told me to get on this thing. I was hoping  _ you  _ would know.”

She looked down, a little bashful. “Sorry. I don’t…I don’t even remember my own name, or what I’m doing here. I’d tell you if I could.”

_ Yikes. She must have hit her head pretty hard during the fall. _ “Oh…amnesia.”

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward pause.

“Well, your name’s Myona Alderan. I do know that,” Cage said. 

“Myona? That’s my name?”

“Uh-huh. That’s all I know too, ‘cuz we just met.”

She smiled sweetly, if a little nervously. “Well, thank you. Having a name is a start.”

Cage tilted his head.  _ She’s so much more expressive now. I can actually tell what she’s saying to me.  _ “Did you always talk like that? I had a completely different impression of you before.” 

She frowned, which, yes, proved his point. “I’d be able to tell you if I remembered ‘before…’”

“Sorry To Interrupt,” the AI began. 

_ Oh. Right. I forgot about her. _

Myona jumped, startled. “Is that an interface program?”

“I Am Pharsti, Navigation System,” the computer replied. “Pleased To Meet You.” _ She does actually sound pleased. I’ve never seen a ship’s computer with coding that intricate; maybe the Bonaparte III’s system wasn’t as state-of-the-art as the captain always liked to say. _

“H-hello,” Myona replied, still looking rather shocked. “This system is more advanced than usual,” she commented, turning back to Cage. He was inclined to agree.

“I know, right? Technology these days…wait. Does that mean you remember something?” 

She looked pensive. “Ah, you’re right. This is an LEV, Pharsti is a program, the knife goes on the right and the fork goes on the left. At least I remember the basic stuff.” She rubbed at her temple, ignoring her somewhat tangled bangs. “Maybe I can remember some stuff about myself too, if I concentrate hard enough. Hmm…”

“Hey, take it easy,” Cage soothed.  _ She seems like a little bit of an airhead. It’s cute.  _ “Don’t hurt yourself trying to remember too soon. We both took a pretty nasty landing. Just take your time, okay? I’m sure it’ll sort itself out soon. I’ll help however I can too.”

“Thanks.” She offered a small smile. “It’s weird not knowing anything about yourself,” she admitted.

“Brain Activity Levels Recorded At Normal. Would You Like A Full Analysis?” Pharsti offered.

“No thanks,” Myona replied, seemingly unfazed at holding a conversation with an AI at this level.  _ Maybe she was used to this before, and it’s just second nature to her now? _

“We need to figure out where we are now,” Cage said. “It’s obviously Mars somewhere, but it’s impossible to tell what region, or where the nearest sphere is. You remember spheres, right?”

“No…Wait, yes. It’s where people live, right?”

“Yeah. The glass domes where it’s safe to breathe. If we find one of those, we’ll be safe.”

Well, the frame was on, at least. Pharsti proved that much.  _ I’m shocked it can still move, let alone that it landed itself on autopilot all the way from the atmosphere. I don’t think we’re in very good condition if we had to fight again, though. _

The comm crackled, and Cage suffered a brief bout of fear that the mystery frame runner was back to finish him off.

“Bingo!” came the voice from the radio.

“What was that?!” Myona exclaimed, trying her best to peer out of the glass and see anyone approaching. 

As if on cue, three LEVs came into view, previously hidden by the natural desert cover. “This is UCM Security Keeping Force Hellespontos County 3rd Division, do you copy?”

_ Hellespontos! We must be close!  _ He breathed a sigh of relief, turning to Myona. “Oh, good. Help is on the way. Now all we have to do-”

“This is a warning to the pilot in the unregistered LEV. You have destroyed public property and endangered the safety and well-being of the community! Therefore, you will be arrested in accordance with our statute on vandalism and destruction of property!”

Cage’s blood ran cold.  _ This isn’t right. There’s no way. _

Beside him, Myona muttered, “I wonder if I was a bad person…” He wished he could tell her.

Bolozof settled into his chair, a dour look on his face. “Well, I was expecting to meet again, but then again I was never much for entertaining people anyway.” Nadia, similarly displeased, schooled her features and said nothing.

Dezeele, on the other hand, was as smug as could be. “I’m hardly the type to be accommodating to the practices found in other countries. If you are not willing to help out, there will be problems.” 

Bolozof snickered, a little cutting. “I guess there’s no choice, then. I’m not so desperate as to steal from others.” 

“Don’t fret,” Dezeele said, sounding far too haughty to be reassuring. “That special someone of yours is safe—one must be careful with such precious collateral. Those in the immediate surroundings are not so lucky, of course.”

That must be herself, Nadia surmised. Of course, the good doctor hadn’t even acknowledged her presence in the room yet. 

Bolozof nodded along as if this was perfectly natural. “I see. So it’s been done.”

“Plan 261 has been executed,” Dezeele confirmed. 

“Maintain confidentiality, eh?” Bolozof chuckled shrewdly. “Nonsense.”

Dezeele waved a dismissive hand. “A bigger web catches more prey. It’s their own fault for being so stupid as to get caught.”

Nadia chose this time to speak. “Self-serving action by an official. Instead of taking responsibility for one’s own mistakes, covering it up with yet another fiasco…” She did have a gift with third-person language, she’d been told—along with deadpan delivery. Surprisingly, Bolozof did not try to curb her.

“That’s just the way things work,” Dezeele said. “More importantly, you haven’t had so much as a bite of the Natural Beef. You don’t like it? It’s better while it’s still warm…”

“I guess it would make sense that, as a Martian, I don’t care much for Earthling food,” Nadia shot back. “We’ve been conditioned to become this way for so many years, to be less than human…” Not that he would know.

“Well, that sounds a little bitter,” Dezeele said, with champion condescension. “Isn’t the one most precious to you an Earthling also? Didn’t you ever learn that hypocrisy is something to be ashamed of?”

“You intolerable-”

“That’s enough.” Bolozof sighed heavily, getting up from his seat. “We’re not going to get anything else done by being here. Go home and get some rest.”

Nadia reluctantly backed down and rose to leave. “Yes, sir.”

After she left the room, Bolozof pointedly looked at Dezeele. “Well, you just watch your step there. You can never be too careful. See you later…” he drawled, and then turned to follow her out.

Once the door shut behind them both, Dezeele sighed.  _ What a rude bunch. Like beasts who only know how to fight.  _ He took a sip of his drink.  _ They should enjoy it while it lasts. Once the system is completed, they’ll be sorry they ever disrespected me…  _

Myona sat completely still in her chair, head lowered, and waited for the man on the other side of the table to finish interrogating Cage.

Her story made no sense. She  _ knew  _ it made no sense. And yet it was the only story she had. Her newfound friend, on the other hand, was having trouble defending himself.

“Cage Midwell, age 17. Hmm…” The security chief on the other side of the table peered at Cage through his laced fingers, deep in thought.

He nodded and swallowed, brow scrunched. “Yes sir. Like I’ve been telling you, if you listen to my side of the story…”

The man scoffed. “Yes, the story about how you were attacked by the devil and made an emergency landing on Mars?”

“Not the devil, an LEV that  _ looked like _ the devil,” Cage insisted.

_ He’s pretty adamant about this devil stuff… I hope whatever he saw didn’t shake him up too much,  _ Myona thought with a twinge of guilt. She didn’t even remember the fight. She had slept through all of it, to her embarrassment and frustration.  _ Argh, I feel so useless. Maybe if I could recall what happened, I wouldn’t have so many questions about myself and my memories.  _

She did her best to cease that train of thought when her headache started to grow. It’d been waxing and waning ever since she woke up inside the LEV with Cage, and she still hadn’t managed to recall anything of substance about herself.

“Silence, you terrorist!” the man barked, and Myona and Cage both flinched. 

_ Terrorist? _

“Terrorist?” echoed Cage.

_ Am I…a terrorist?  _

He perked up. “I know! I can prove it—just look at the security satellite record, and you’ll see that we landed in that LEV. We came in through the atmosphere, and-”

“If you’re going to lie anyway, make it more believable. There is no such record—which means you were on the surface to begin with. There’s no doubt that you attacked the UNSF facilities a few hours ago. Because of you, countless civilians have suffered…” the man slammed his hands on the metal desk with a tremendous rattle. “And even then you persist with this fantasy?! I’m going to see to it that you pay for this!”

He was breathing hard now, glaring at Cage with unconstrained fury.  _ He seems like a good man…I wish there were a way we could convince him we’re telling the truth.  _

“Why?! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Cage’s voice shook despite his shouting, and Myona realized he was crying. “I escaped only to find myself in the middle of a battle, and I’ve only been trying to save myself!” He hiccupped and rubbed his eyes. “So please, don’t accuse me of all these things when you haven’t even looked into them!”

The security guard, however, was not buying it. “And now you’re trying to earn my sympathy. You’ll be feeling really sorry for yourself once I catch you out. Bonaparte III went down, and so did everyone on it. You really thought you could fool me like that, son?”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Cage asked, wiping his nose with his sleeve. “I thought- I thought there were survivors…”

Without another word, the man turned on the TV. 

The news anchor was in the middle of her report. “-suffered great damage, and the cause of the accident is still unknown. According to Lieutenant Noachim, who surveyed the crash site, the tragedy looks to be associated with engine trouble or some sort of misjudgment by the pilot; there are no survivors. Among those listed are passengers are Earth inhabitants Adam Twize, Alman Ov-”

He muted the TV, his point made. “Understand? Everyone is dead. The investigation is closed.”

She still didn’t quite understand the situation, but… _ Cage said there were survivors. His program had told him so. Why is the news saying there aren’t? _

Cage looked as confused as she probably did, too. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No.” 

The security chief had had enough, it seemed. “You’ll have plenty of time to repent in your cell. The real interrogation starts tomorrow.”

He waved his hand, and the guards posted at the door seized them both.

Cage was still crying when they reached their cell.

They settled down on opposite benches. Myona, for the most part, stayed quiet; she didn’t want to accidentally say the wrong thing and make him feel worse.

After a while he lifted his head up. “Everyone?” he whispered. “How can that be, when some people escaped?” He groaned and buried his head in his hands. “Why?”

She sighed.  _ He’s not going to get anywhere unless he thinks this through. Otherwise, when they come to interrogate us tomorrow, he won’t be able to defend himself.  _ “Calm down.”

“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? I didn’t do anything!”

“I don’t know what’s going on either, but I know you’re no criminal. Besides, the Cage Midwell who was on the news as a deceased passenger wasn’t you.”

Cage sniffed, finally wiping the last of his tears away. “What?”

“Someone must’ve checked in with your name, which is why they don’t believe you…For instance, how about this? Someone builds a new, top-secret weapon and rises up directly to the upper strata where the Bonaparte is…then he approaches and attacks.”

“Wait a minute! How in the world did he get up to the upper strata? And how is it my fault now?”

“Well, I’d say there are two different ways of looking at it.” She steepled her fingers. “First, perhaps it was someone high-profile, who wanted to avoid a scandal—like a politician, or a relative of a politician. Second, it’s possible there was nobody on board. Like an unmanned fighter.”

“But…it was talking.”

“If it had some degree of auto-pilot capability, and wasn’t remote-controlled, it’s possible. Even the LEV we were on could talk,” Myona pointed out.

Her head started to hurt again.  _ Oh, come on; this stuff isn’t even that much of a leap from what I knew before! Why does thinking about this hurt my brain so much? _

She ignored it for the moment. “That black LEV you fought against may be a new model, and they’re trying to cover up its activity.”

He nodded slowly. “Right…And that’s why they put the blame on us: so they can keep the secret.”

“They’re going to say that there were no witnesses, and that the LEV that attacked the Bonaparte was the LEV we were on. What do you think?”

Cage started to panic again. “What are we going to do? If we don’t do something, they’ll-”

He interrupted himself in the middle of his own sentence, tilting his head at something she couldn’t see or hear. After a moment he started rifling through his pockets, and in the ensuing quiet, Myona heard the tinny sound of music through some small speaker. 

It was…piano. Beautiful piano, in fact; the melody was soothing and strangely familiar. It wasn’t exactly nostalgic, but it was certainly moving.

“Where’s that music coming from?” she asked.

Cage found what he was looking for and held it out for her to see. It was a little button, concealed in his clothes. The notes floated up from a speaker in the center, small and unassuming enough that she wouldn’t have noticed it unless she was looking for it.

“It’s very pretty…And very familiar,” she said, resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes. Her throbbing headache felt neither better nor worse, but the music lulled her.

“That’s Ares playing.” 

Myona cracked open an eye. “Ares?” _If that’s his friend from the Bonaparte…oh. He’s probably dead._

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sensing her change in mood.

“It’s nothing…so, you two were close then.”

“This song marks the beginning of our friendship. It was a very important moment in my life.” He sniffed and wiped a stray tear that threatened to escape. “I have to live through this. For Ares, and for everyone else.”

She offered him a little smile by way of support. “You’re right. You can’t give up now.” 

“Yeah. I have to become independent, and learn to live without Ares.”

“Aww, that’s cruel. Are you saying you don’t want me around anymore?”

Cage and Myona both whipped around at lightning speeds, directing their attention to the door. Her head suddenly  _ ached,  _ fiercely; was it the shock of hearing someone unexpected?

She couldn’t see anything, since the peephole was closed. However, Cage sat rigid in his seat, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Silence.

Finally, the same voice again: “Cage. Come over here and let me see your face.”

Cage rose and walked to the door. Myona watched him, brow furrowed.  _ What is going  _ on  _ here?  _

“This has got to be a dream,” he muttered. 

“Not a dream.” That voice niggled at her headache.  _ Will I even be able to function like this? Every little thing feels like a sledgehammer to the skull. _

There was a sound of something sliding in the door: probably the peephole, but Cage inadvertently blocked her view. She tried to crane her neck and get a better look, but to no avail. The only thing she could catch was a violet eye, partially obscured by the mess of Cage’s hair.

“A…res? It’s…got to be a dream, but…” his voice, laden with uncertainty, only confused her more.  _ Just who is standing on the other side of that door? _

Cage suddenly reared back, clutching his cheek; Myona stood up in alarm. “Ow!” he exclaimed. “Why’d you pinch me?!”

“See? Not a dream, is it?” came the voice on the other side of the door. He sounded decidedly amused. 

_ So he’s alive?  _ she thought with a twinge of incredulity.  _ Now I’m really curious to meet this person. _

“Ares! It’s you! It’s really you!” Cage’s physical pain, evidently, was overshadowed by his utter glee. Myona didn’t blame him. That’s probably how she’d react if she suddenly found out her best friend was alive… _ Well. Not like I remember my best friend,  _ she thought glumly.  _ Or even if I had one. _

“Alright, let’s save the touching reunion for later, and figure out how to undo this lock and get you out of there,” Ares said.

Yet another new voice spoke up, and that time Myona swore she was going to have a heart attack. “Here’s the combination.”

_ Did he bring a friend with him?  _ she wondered. However, judging from the alarmed noise both boys made, this was a stranger.

“Don’t be scared,” the new person said. “I’m on your side. I’ve been listening to what you were saying, so I understand the situation. Now punch in the combination I’m about to give you,” he continued, and his authoritative tone brokered no argument.

_ Well, if he has the combination, we might as well listen to him… _

Cage punched in every number the mystery man gave him, and the lock clicked. “It worked!” He sounded as astonished as Myona felt. The door swung open.

The second it did, Cage bowled Ares over in a hug. She watched the scene with a touch of fondness; it was impossible not to be moved, even though she really didn’t know them.

“I didn't think I was ever going to see you again! I’m really glad that wasn’t the case.” She could hear the smile in Cage’s voice.

Ares was still obscured, but a hand came up to ruffle Cage’s hair. “I’m glad too,” he responded. Myona was beginning to get the sense that he sounded permanently amused. 

Cage finally,  _ finally  _ stepped back to let her see. “Sorry, I almost forgot. This is Myona. We escaped together.”

Immediately, she could see what Cage was talking about when he mentioned his dependency on Ares. He seemed completely unruffled by what was going on, an easy smile on his face. Well, until he locked eyes with Myona—as soon as he did, he looked immediately curious. A question formed in his eyes, but she didn’t know what it was. She squashed down her headache for now.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ares,” she said, inclining her head.

“She can’t remember anything pre-accident,” Cage filled him in. “Do you remember seeing her on the ship?”

Immediately Ares’s face smoothed over, so fast she could’ve imagined his curious expression before. “She can’t remember? Oh…I’m sorry, I don’t think we know each other.”

_ Probably not,  _ she agreed internally, but in truth, she had no idea.  _ Would I even recognize someone I met before? It would be hard to tell, if everything makes my head hurt the same. _

The strange man from before exited his own cell without prompting, making her wonder if he was just waiting for something interesting to happen before he let himself out. “This hangar’s this way,” he gestured. “That’s probably where they’re keeping your LEV.”

They followed him through the halls, which were all surprisingly empty. While they walked, Cage and Ares exchanged stories.

“So how did you get here? Actually, first of all, how did you escape? And how did you know where to find us?” Cage practically vibrated with excitement, which Myona thought was very cute. 

“I actually escaped in a pod. I was watching the local news, and it said that all the people who escaped had died in the accident,” Ares explained. “And then I found out you were arrested as the culprit…so I came to your rescue.” He smiled, a little ironically.

They reached a large set of doors. “Well, here we are,” the mystery man—had he introduced himself while she wasn’t paying attention?—opened to the door to the empty hangar. 

“That’s the LEV we came in on,” Cage said, pointing it out to Ares. A little redundant, seeing as it was the only one that was distinguishable from the standard police models. He nodded along patiently.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever got your name,” Ares said to the mystery man. 

He grinned. “I’m Deckson. And this? This is like my backyard.” He opened the bay doors, revealing the desert outside the facility.

Myona could make out two LEVs in the distance, probably a handful of minutes away.  _ They’d easily be able to overtake us if we went on foot, and they realized we were escapees. _

“They’re going to see us when we go out the door,” Ares said, as if reading her mind. “Especially if Cage takes his LEV. We won’t be able to escape unless we clear a path.”

“If you could just hold on for a little while…my friend has no concept of time,” Deckson said.  _ He must’ve already thought this through. _

“Certainly,” Cage said amicably. Ares just shrugged. Deckson kept an eye on the bay doors and his phone while Myona and Cage climbed the steps up to the LEV together.

“Are you going to fight them?” Myona asked.

“Yeah. It’s just two, and Deckson’s friends are coming.”

“Just two, huh?” she teased. “Yesterday you didn’t even know how to move that thing.”

“Hey!” Cage protested weakly. “It’s easier than you think…”

She laughed. “I know your model’s nicer. Just be careful, okay?”

“I will.”

The frame booted up after he’d settled in, humming to life as it did so. The metal door dissolved into clear glass as she watched. She had seen it happen before, sometime; she must have, even if she didn’t remember, because it didn’t surprise her to see it.  _ Maybe that’s how I can remember my past. If I have odd spots of intuitive knowledge, I might be able to trace back to where it came from…  _

Ares startled her out of her train of thought. “Pretty neat how the cockpit panel can transition from solid steel to glass, huh?” He had climbed up the stairs behind her as Cage’s machine passed through to the outside.

She turned and nodded. “Yeah. I noticed that. Do you know how it works?”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Afraid not. Although, I think it’s the same technology that makes the lasers.”

That made sense, she supposed. She didn’t know much about the internal circuitry of LEVs, but there had to be something intricate going on in there in order for them to be able to withstand so much damage to their outer armor and still function.

“They’re on their way,” Deckson called up. “We should probably go outside.”

They walked right out of the open doors to see Cage currently engaged with the two security LEVs from before. As she watched, he blew a leg off of one of them with his laser arm. 

The cockpit block ejected, and the soldier inside clambered out and ran back into the compound. His buddy, probably not wanting to trample him, hesitated in moving their frame to intercept Cage’s next attack. He landed another clean hit and the second soldier ejected as readily as the first.

Beside her, Deckson whistled. “I wouldn’t mind having one of those for myself.” Ares said nothing, but looked pensive.

The radio channel that Deckson was monitoring on his phone lit up, and a man’s face appeared on the screen.  _ Hey, it’s that security officer who made Cage cry!  _

Now that she was looking again, he and Deckson resembled each other a great deal; they bore similar square chins, the same sharp angles. Although the security man was dressed a little more nicely, whereas Deckson embodied the “kindly Martian grandfather” energy.

“You’re using my channel, Tim,” Deckson said before the other man could get so much as a single word in.

On the other side of the screen, Tim let out a long-suffering sigh. “You again, Deckson. Why do you always need to make trouble?”

“Well, Tim…oops, I guess I’m supposed to call you Frazer now…well, dear brother mine, I haven’t done anything. Earth has been antagonizing Mars for a while now, and as they say, what goes around comes around. I’m just helping out a little with the natural progression of things.”

“You haven’t changed a bit.”

Deckson grinned. “I know.”

“Unfortunately for you, this is the last chance you’ll have to spout off your self-serving speeches. You all will be charged the heaviest penalty available for escaping incarceration!”

As he spoke, five more security LEVs came out of the woodwork, rapidly approaching and surrounding Cage.  _ Oh no. This isn’t good. _

“Now cut it out and take responsibility for your own actions!” Frazer yelled. Myona was beginning to think he did that a lot.

Deckson remained unfazed. “Well…no thanks.”

As if on cue, one of the recently-emerged enemy LEVs exploded in a burst of metal and fire. Frazer, on the radio, roared so loudly Myona had to cover her ears. “ _ WHAT?!” _

Next to his face, someone new appeared on the broadcast; concurrently, an LEV touting a gigantic gun came into view near Cage. “Hey, Boss! Sorry I’m late! I'll make it up to you. Guess what Planet Airhead Girl did…” He was positively grinning, eyes gleaming with mischief.

Yet another LEV followed the newcomer, this one sporting much heavier armor. A girl’s face, red as a tomato with hair to match, appeared on Deckson’s radio. “Boy, who you callin’ Planet Airhead Girl?! You wanna take this outside?”

The first person who had spoken threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Semmy, you’re scaring me,” he whined.

“That’s not possible! You’re saying they hit it at that distance?!” Frazer sounded like he might faint. He started to say something else, but the resolution of his part of the screen started to degrade, and his voice crackled with static.

“I guess he’s having a hard time keeping a signal,” Deckson said. “Oh, well. Good riddance.”

They waited a while longer while Cage and the new LEVs rallied against the security force. The big one with the armor— _ I think the girl is driving it? _ —boasted a formidable arsenal of missiles. The sniper, aside from his gun, had a loop of giant grenades attached to his frame. Either of them alone had the weaponry to make an even match for three of those standard-model security LEVs; combined with Cage, they made short work of the guards.

She glanced at Ares, who was watching with similar interest but trying not to seem like it. She couldn’t really put her finger on it, but he looked like he was altogether very curious about what was going on, while simultaneously trying to hide just  _ how _ curious. It reminded her of the way he’d looked at her when Cage introduced them: a searching glance, an inquisitive flash. He had the same eyes as her.

A tanker approached from the side, rolling right up to where they were waiting outside the bay doors. The hatch opened, and out popped someone with long, bright hair. “Well, here I am!” they chirped.

Deckson chuckled, “Phil, we’ve grown roots waiting for you.” He gestured for Myona and Ares to follow. “Come on all, climb aboard. Don’t worry, they’re all trustworthy.” 

Myona, puzzled, looked at Phil and then back to Deckson, and then again back to Phil poking out from the top of the tank unit. 

Ares, as if sensing her trepidation, laid a gentle hand on her shoulder as he walked past. “We don’t have a choice. If we don’t go with them, we’ll be executed for sure.” 

She nodded resolutely.  _ I guess we’re going, then.  _

They ducked through the door, Ares first, and then Myona. Phil continued to stare at them both strangely.  _ Do I have something on my face?  _ She looked desperately to Ares for help (yes, she definitely knew what Cage meant now), but he just shrugged as if to say  _ your guess is as good as mine. _

Phil hopped back into the driver’s seat and Deckson started speaking into his phone again. “Cage, do you copy?”

While she couldn’t see Cage because she was no longer looking over Deckson’s shoulder, she heard him respond. “Yes, I’m here.”

“We’re going to have to separate,” Deckson instructed. “Visibility on this end is bad, and it's dangerous. You’ll have to navigate.”

“Where should I go?”

As Deckson described the specifics of the rendezvous point to Cage, Myona recalled something that the sniper had said earlier. 

_ He called him Boss, didn’t he? So Deckson is their leader…he didn’t seem so serious when he was talking to Frazer, but I can see how he’s the authority here. I guess his grandfatherly bearing makes him easy to underestimate. _

__ “Semyl! Razma! He’s my guest, and he’s coming with me.” She assumed he was talking to the pair in the LEVs that appeared earlier.

“Got it, Boss,” the girl said. “We’ll take good care of him. Let’s go!”

“What’s with the new lingo?” the sniper teased, but Myona didn’t get the joke.

The speakers were silent for a second. Then: “Razma, you like missiles?”

“Okay, got it, let’s get going! Nice to meet you, new guy!” 

_ So the girl in the armored frame must be Semyl, and the sniper must be Razma…got it. _

“Uh-huh…” Cage responded to their back-and-forth, bewildered. Myona hid a chuckle behind her sleeve.

_ Well, we made it out of there. I wonder…who exactly are these people, and where are we going? _

Nadia shook her head as she hung up the phone. “...It never ends.”

A security guard barged around the corner, disheveled and covered in dust. He looked like he’d just run halfway across the compound. “Who the hell are you? Where is your identification?”

Well.

“UNSF Special Task Force Acemos. Nadia Candido. Satisfied?”

The soldier gulped, immediately sobering up. “Acemos…? The army elite force?”

She pinned him to the wall with one hand, seething. “Who the hell are you, and where is YOUR identification?”

Frazer must’ve heard her shouting because he came around the corner almost immediately.

“I’m very sorry. As his superior, I am ready to take responsibility for his wrongdoing,” Frazer said.

Nadia let go of the soldier’s shirt, almost feeling bad for scaring the life out of him. Almost. She snickered. “Things haven’t changed a bit, have they? Which is why you’re still a security supervisor.” Nevermind that she aimed to cut him with those words; she knew they wouldn’t hurt.

She was right. “I aim only to fulfill my post as instructed,” he said calmly, as if he had practiced it many times. Too calm for someone who’d walked in on having one of his soldiers threatened, but then again, as she understood it, he was having a bad day. 

She wiped her hand on her jacket, trying to get rid of the dust she’d picked up from the guard’s shirt. “Anyway, I will let the heads know about this. You take it from there.”

“Yes ma’am,” Frazer said, obsequiously.

She turned around and walked away, but didn’t quite pass out of earshot of the rest of their conversation.

“Is she an acquaintance of yours?” the guard asked.

“Yeah. I was an instructor of hers for a while…just a little while. It was a very long time ago.”

Nadia clenched her jaw and walked faster.


End file.
